Collins Street is a tale of a financial meltdown as a result of some insider trading amongst other dodgy shenanigans. Spineless shit kicker Fox J Michaels (Jamie McCarney) is taken under the wing of maniacal financial boss Gordon Gatto (Ged Cogley) and transformed into a major player in the Australian financial scene. Fox gets in way over his head and the shit inevitably hits the fan.
Just like the world of high finance, this play was extremely aggressive and intimidating. There was absolutely no subtly involved and the high energy maintained for its’ duration was almost punishing. The constant machisimo, scatological and sexual references had most of the gents in the audience roaring with delight, but some of the ladies found it all a bit too much. In creating a couple of larger than life caricatures, they had perhaps done too good a job of showing the most repulsive the corporate world had to offer.
There were many moments that relied heavily on the comedy of humiliation and cruelty which trod a very fine line between humour and discomfort. A constant barrage of corse humour ensured that these two characters remained loathesome despite a glimmer of hope that there might be some pity.
In addition to the similarity of the shows’ title and characters to that of the film “Wall St”, a number of scenes from movies were appropriated for this play that added some chuckles of recognition.
Having created many maladjusted characters in the past, Ged gave Gordo an appropriate amount of lunancy combined with plenty of cruelty. Jamie was especially impressive with his transformation from timid to monster and the many moments that he threw himself around the stage, being the whipping boy for most of the play.
Collins St was a powerful play that explored an intriguing subject that is still of major concern in the world. Just don’t go expecting some cheery, reassuring observational comedy about the global financial crisis.
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